Why I'm Not Feeling Sony's Welcome Back Program

Sony has finally unveiled its Welcome Back program to make up for the month they took down the PlayStation Network (PSN) after being hacked, with millions of user data and credit card information stolen.

Sony’s Welcome Back program includes two free game downloads and a 30-day trial with PlayStation Plus. The offer is definitely nice, but I just don’t know how I feel about it. In a way it reminded me of how Microsoft lost the antitrust lawsuit in 2006 and ended up passing out free PCs and discounts of their own software to public schools. It’s less of a settlement than it is a way to shove their products down people’s throats.

I’m sure I’m just being cynical. I’m sure a lot of people who use PSN regularly are thrilled to receiving free games as well as a free test drive to Sony’s premium online service. I’m just not one of them, even though my personal data was stolen just the same.

So what does it take for me to get back to the Sony bandwagon? I don’t know, maybe a hug and a card?

The main issue for me is that I simply don’t know if I can trust Sony again. The fact that they’re still getting hacked means I’m still wary of again having my information stolen. It’s nice they’re passing out free Burnol, but it doesn’t mean I’m not afraid of being burned again.

I haven’t turned on my PlayStation 3 since the day I heard about the hack, and their Welcome Back program isn’t so tempting for me to hastily update the console anytime soon. I still love you Sony, but let’s take a step back and just see what happens, okay?

What about you? Are you happy with Sony’s Welcome Back program? Or did you expect more from Sony?

2 thoughts on “Why I'm Not Feeling Sony's Welcome Back Program”

I’m still feeling anger at Sony. I agree, there is no guarantee this is not going to happen to the PSN again. Not to mention other portions of Sony has been attacked since the DDOS attacks on PSN and the security breach. I’m still miffed at Sony because they are not saying anything and I think they are just hoping that it goes away and people will eventually forget.

I don’t think they have learned their lesson after kicking the hornets nest and they had it good for a long with the PS3 being unhackable. The Welcome Back Program isn’t enough to forget that having my information stolen could affect me 10 years down the road and cause major headaches.

Google and Microsoft at least invite white hackers to hack their products, but Sony decides to lawyer up. I think Howard Stinger and Kazuao Hirai need to go. It will be interesting how Sony is going to be affected over the long run and how security legistlation on an international level will see changes, if any.
The package doesn’t make up the fact that you might get hurt 10 years down the road from having your information stolen.